Graphic Novelty²

FINALLY. I’ve had this on my holds list for months and just got it! And it was so good I devoured it in one evening.

Diana is princess of Paradise Island – but she knows she’s made for more, that there’s more of the world to see. On the feast day of Diana, goddess of the hunt, the princess plays the role of Hercules, as always, and bounds into the forest for her sisters to catch her. As she evades her sisters, she stumbles upon a plane crashed upon the shore, and a man injured and stranded there. She does her best to heal him, but it’s apparent that he will soon die without man’s medicine. She enters and wins the contest against Mala, her betrothed, in order to gain the invisible plane and take Steve Trevor back to the United States. The Amazons discover the man and, furious, attempt to follow their princess as she flies through the storm clouds protecting Paradise Island. Once in Man’s World, Diana is both fascinated and disturbed by what she finds. Her Amazon sisters track her down and capture her to bring her back in chains to Paradise Island. There, Queen Hippolyta awaits the start of her daughter’s trial for breaking their most sacred law – fraternizing with the outside world.

Of all the Wonder Woman origin stories, this one is definitely one of my favorites. The story is familiar but with little twists that make it fresh and fascinating. The story takes place at the trial, with Diana’s adventures in Man’s World revealed through testimonies. The art is beautiful. I love Diana’s expressiveness and her character design – SHE HAS PANTS (for a good portion of the book)! The panel layouts are unlike anything I’d ever seen in a comic before. There are a lot of instances where characters or other elements don’t conform to a panel, or have star motifs whenever Diana kicks some ass, and some are overlaid with the Lasso of Truth, to bring us back to the trial. It made it kind of hard to read in some spots, though. I am in love with this book and cannot wait for Volume 2!

– Kathleen